Last week for “coffee talk Sunday,” my coffee talk friend suggested soup from Uncle Cheetah’s Soup Shop. I don’t know why I don’t go here more often, it’s basically genius. The atmosphere is perfect, the soup is hot, and they have grilled cheese prime for dunking. We split a Goat Cheese and Rosemary Scented Grilled Cheese to dunk in our respective soups: Creamy Tomato Basil and Roasted Red Pepper Asiago. I had the Roasted Red Pepper and wanted to re-create it at home, in fact I almost took it home with me as I may have had a slight spill 🙂 oops!Continue reading “Roasted Red Pepper Asiago Soup”→

Borscht is what comes to mind when talking about Russian cuisine, however shchi is just as distinguishable. Shchi is a hot soup with cabbage as the main ingredient and even more favorably sauerkraut, lending it an appealing sour taste. With a myriad of recipes shchi can be made with meat or without, with cabbage or with sauerkraut but one thing remains the same, the soup should cure before eating. Most cooks wait at least a day or two before serving it hot alongside rye bread and butter.Continue reading “Shchi”→

Classified as offal oxtail is exactly just that– a tail from an ox. Nowadays oxtail comes from regular beef cattle and has a resplendent culinary history. Not an uber-popular piece of meat but it can be found at specialty butchers, ethnic meat counters and gourmet restaurants particularly in European nature. I was fortunate to have gotten mine from my family’s locally raised grass-fed highland cattle.

Some say that chicken noodle soup feeds the soul but for me it’s straight up Phở! Seriously, how can one say no to a slow simmered broth made from charred onions, beef bones, oxtails, anise, cinnamon, cardamom, clove and ginger? This delish broth is served in a large bowl with a heaping parcel of white rice noodles to slurp up. You also have your choice of thinly sliced flank steak (cooked or raw), tripe, tendon, brisket, meatballs or less traditionally chicken or pork. Accoutrements include, mung bean sprouts, culantro, Thai basil, white onions, lime, fish sauce, Sriracha and hoisen sauce.
Phở is best eaten with chopsticks and little sighs of joy between each slurp of rice noodle and soul satisfying broth.

Eventually, when I am less daunted by bone broth I will attempt my own home-cooked version of Phở . But for now where I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan we have a few Phở places to check out… (like 4). I recommend two dives–either Pho Sac Trang on Div-Ave. or Pho99 on 28th St. SW. For those of us who are not too adventurous when it comes to restaurant ‘ambiance’ consider this your warning when I say dive. Personally I’m okay with a little hole in the wall interior so long as the food is fantastic and fresh!

Phở broth can also be purchased in Asian markets much like chicken stock…

Pho stock, photo from google images

So, now that Phở has made a it’s move into mainstream America please extend nhiều nhờ (many thanks) to Vietnam the country in which pho hails from!

Fall is creeping in with crisp and cooler evenings. Kitchens warmed with simmering stews and soups are quintessential classics. This is a Brazilian take on “boiled dinner” or stew.Continue reading “Cozido”→